Organizational Development Techniques
Organizational Development Techniques: Survey Feedback Data is gathered using the survey approach. This is the most common and commonly utilised data collecting technique. Managers make choices based on the information gathered from the survey. A comprehensive variety of data is gathered on working conditions, job quality, working hours, earnings and salaries, and employee attitudes related to the aforementioned.
The data is subsequently examined by the management team. They identify the issue, assess the outcomes, and provide remedies. All members of the organisation are polled for information. Managers have meetings with their subordinates to discuss the data and give them the opportunity to understand it. Following that, preparations are made to make the required improvements. This practise is followed at all levels of management and by all of the company’s workers.
- Building a Team
Another way of organisation growth is team building. This strategy is especially created to boost employee abilities while also inspiring them to collaborate. It is an organisational development strategy that focuses on the formation of work groups or team building in order to increase organisational performance.
These groups are made up of coworkers of the same rank and a supervisor. This method involves applying sensitivity training to teams from many disciplines. The teams or work groups are modest, ranging from 10 to 15 people. They participate in a group discussion led by an experienced trainer, generally a supervisor. The trainer just facilitates the group conversation and does not take part in it.
People in general do not open up their minds and are not honest with their peers, hence this way of team building is adopted. They do not discuss their differences openly and do not communicate their opinions to their colleagues and superiors. This strategy allows people to voice their opinions and observe how others see them. It heightens awareness to the actions of others.
They become aware of how the group works. They are exposed to other people’s creative thinking and socio-psychological behaviour at work. Many facets of interpersonal behaviour and interactions are taught to them.
- Training in Sensitivity
It is a well-known OD intervention. Laboratory training is another name for it. Employees in groups are asked to interact using this strategy. The goal of sensitivity training is to help individuals comprehend and develop knowledge into one another so that they may feel free and unafraid.
“The assumptions of sensitivity training procedure are that, if these goals are achieved, one will become defensive about himself, less fearful of others’ intentions, more responsive to others and their needs, and less likely to misinterpret others’ behaviour in a negative manner,” writes Abraham Korman.
“Under this strategy, diverse groups of workers are permitted to mingle and converse freely, allowing for the development of interpersonal relationships. They become aware of their behavior’s reflection and work to change it. “Sensitivity training is a group experience meant to offer the most possible chance for people to expose their behaviour, provide and receive feedback, experiment with new behaviour, and build awareness of self and others,” Chris Argyris says.
Employees learn about other people’s sentiments and behaviours, as well as the influence of their own behaviour on others, using this strategy. It enhances openness, listening skills, tolerance for individual diversity, and the art of dispute resolution. It aids in the reduction of interpersonal disputes in the workplace.
It is up to the executives at the highest level of management in the company to decide whether or not this methodology is acceptable, but they must ensure that the method is used to meet organisational development goals.
However, there is a good chance that some of the perpetrators will use the opportunity to further their own interests at the expense of the organization’s. Another severe disadvantage of the strategy is that it may lead to organisational groupism, which would negate the aim of OD. To make this strategy efficient and achieve the goal of OD, the trainer must be carefully chosen. He must be a guy of honour and accountability who commands the respect of the participants.
He plays a critical part in the success of the OD programme. Throughout the training programme, he should establish a friendly attitude. He must ensure that each group member learns from the behaviour of others, is innovative, and has greater exposure to group life.
- Grid for Managers
Robert Blake and Jane Mouton, two industrial psychologists, devised this approach. The managerial grid is a concept that outlines two key characteristics of management behaviour. They are behaviours that are both people and production driven. There are attempts to pay more attention to both factors.
- Objective-based management (MBO)
MBO (Management by Objectives) is a management development strategy initially proposed by Peter Drucker in 1954. It is a strategy for evaluating and reviewing performance as well as a way for reaching corporate goals. The organization’s goals are set using this technique, and the managers are responsible for achieving them. They are also required to provide results.
All managers are held jointly and individually responsible for the achievement of organisational goals. It also has an excellent evaluation mechanism. Managers’ performance is evaluated in relation to specified goals. It’s a method that focuses on getting results.
“A system wherein superior and subordinate managers of an organisation jointly identify its common aims, define each individual’s major areas of responsibility in terms of the results expected of him, and use these measures as guides for operating the unit, assessing the contribution benefits of its members,” according to George Odiorne.
“MBO is a strategy developed to:-” write D D White and D A Bednar.
At the organisational level, improve the accuracy of the planning process.
“Bridging the gap between employee and company objectives.”
- Thinking Out Loud
It’s a problem-solving approach in which a group of five to eight managers gets together to solve an issue. As the name implies, it entails brain storming in order to foster creative thinking. It generates fresh thoughts. Any idea, opinion, or plan presented at a meeting must be critically reviewed, according to the principle. The participants are requested to present unique thoughts that have arisen in their minds. It is based on the assumption that everyone has a creative mind and the potential to come up with fresh ideas.
Participants are attentively monitored throughout the conversation, and the gathering is not led by an expert. For close communication, the participants sit across the table. The brainstorming process may help to create an environment where individuals can freely express themselves. This promotes group interaction as well as innovative thinking. The main drawback to this procedure is that it is time consuming and hence costly.
- Consultation on the Process
Process consultation is an upgrade over sensitivity training or T Group in that both are founded on the same concept of enhancing organisational performance via the resolution of interpersonal issues, but process consultation is more task-oriented than sensitivity training.
As E H Schein puts it, “the consultant offers the client ‘insight’ into what is going on around him, inside him, and between him and other people” during process consulting.
In this strategy, the consultant or expert gives the participant the essential instruction or counsel on how to solve his or her own issue. Here, the consultant diagnoses the issue correctly and then advises the participants.
According to E H Schein, the consultant “assists the client in seeing, understanding, and acting upon process events that occur in the client’s environment.” The process consulting approach was created to identify answers to the organization’s major difficulties, such as decision-making and problem-solving, communication, group member functional roles, and leadership traits. A consultant is a professional who works outside of the company.
- Circles of Excellence
Under this method, a group of 5 to 12 people meet once a week on their own time during business hours to discuss issues and provide recommendations to management for execution. During the meeting, the supervisors stay present. Quality Circles began in Japan in the 1960s, with the goal of improving quality, lowering costs, and raising employee morale. Workers’ engagement was key to the project’s success. TQM, or total quality management, is a relatively new concept. In 1980, the United States accepted this approach.
- Analysis of Transactions
Transactional analysis aids in the better understanding of individuals. It’s a great tool for organisational growth, but it may also be used for training, counselling, interpersonal communication, and group dynamics study. It is now commonly utilised as an OD method. It aids in the development of more mature ego states among the organization’s employees. It’s also employed in team building and process consulting.